Protecting shield for bank and other windows



Feb. 16 1926. 1,573,770

7 J. c. LUCAS PROTECTING SHIELD FOR BANK AND OTHER WINDOWS Filed April 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sneet 1 g Q 3 i Qwvenfo r Feb. 16,1926. 1,513,170 V J. c. LUCAS PROTECTING SHIELD FOR BANK AND OTHER WINDOWS Filed. April 4, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I "m W jwumtoo 5 I 7 y (7. (IL ucaa $1 36 4 6mm,

Patented F eb. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH c.- LUCAS, or BLANDINSVILLE, ILLINOIS.

PROTECTING SHIELD FOR BANK AND OTHER WINDOWS.

Application filed April 4, 1925. Serial No. 20,751. i

To all whom it may] concern:

Be it known that I, Josnri-r C. Lucas, a citizen of the. United States, residing at Blandinsville, in the county oi McDonough and State of Illinoisliave inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Protecting Shields for Bank and Other Windows, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

This inventionrelates to devices for protecti-ng cashiers and other oiiicials at the windows of banks, and particularly to certain improvements upon the device for this 'purpose illustrated, described and claimed in my pending application for'patent, Serial #752,i93, iiled on the 26th day of November, 1924;.

In my priorapplication, I showed a shield which was supported at the window open- 'ing of a tellers or cashierscage and which was normally held up by a latch. This latch was adapted to be released by a solenoid to permit the windowto fall, the solenoid being energized by, the pressure of a button or like circuit-closing device.

One of the objects of the present improve automatically released and automatically swings downward through the action of a spring closing the opening which would other 'ise be left between the lower end of the shield and the ledge and preventing the robber fron shooting through the opening which would otherwise be left.

A still further object is .to provide'tor stopping the descent oi the window, which means -.will actuate andrelease the safety door andcause it to automatically close, and to provide means for latching the safety door in its a'utomaticallyclojsed position.-

Another: object is to provide means for automatically latching the shield in its lowered position, and pro-videnieaj s; whereby this latch maybe readi y Ie1eased.-

the keepen :13 u n the. ld lgO$Hlld- 7.!

Still another, object is to'provideiinproved means for actuating thesignal when the shield has fallen completely down.

, Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein 1 Figure l is an elevation of the faceot a partition wall, to the windows of which my invention. is applied; 7 v v Figure 2 is an inside view of the partition shown in Figure 1 and showing my innproved shields lowered;

Figure 3 is a perspective detail view of the hinge upon which the safety door is mounted; y y, r I

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View on the line it-4 of Figure 2 showing the shield raised; y

Figure 5 is a sectionontheline 5- 5 of Figure 2 showing the shield lowered;

. Figure 6 is a section ontheline 66 of Figure 4i; r Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical section throughthe frame of the door showingfthe circuit-closing signal device; 7 v

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the iraine of the opening showing the shield closed and latched;

- Figure 9 is a like view to Figure 8 but showing the position of the'latch when the shield is raised; i i

. Figure 10 isa diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the shield maybe operated by a button and showing the signalling circuit.

Referring tothe drawings, 6 designates "theopeiiing in front of a tellers or cashiers cage, it being understood, however, that the device is applicable to any opening and I do not wish to'be limited to this use of the device, which is purely illustrative. This opening is normally open butmay be closed by a sliding shield 7, this shield being mounted in guides formed as part of the This frame may tra iewoi'k 8 of the door. consistof steel or other strips of structural-iron work formed to prov de a groove 9- within which the margins of the shield operate. i 7 r Mounted upontlie frame 8 is a cross bar 10 carrying. upon it the -ears, 11 between which is mounted the pivoted latch 12. v The innerend ,of this latclrisformed toengage The outer end of the latch is engaged by the core 1% of a solenoid 15, this solenoid being shown as suspended from a bracket to by means of an adjusting screw 17 and as being connected in circuit with a source of current and with a push button 18. iihen the push button is depressed, the ciro iit is closed, the solenoid is energized, the core drawn upward, and the latch 16 is released from its engagen'ient with the shield and the shield, therefore, falls of its own weight.

Sb far 1 have described practically what illustrated in my prior application for patent, but one of my improvements consists in appl ing to the lower end of the shield i a sncty door or shield section, designated 19. This at its ends is mounted iipon hinge inen'ibers 20. These hinge memenga ge on the inside faces of ears 21 which are attached to the shield 7. These hinge members support the safety door or section 19, which is preferably about four inches wide and, of course, has a length equal to the width of the shield. This door normally held open by a light spring 22 which is attached to the shield and engages over the margin of the door and the door may be urged to a closed position either by gravity or by a spring.

Mounted'upon each hinge member 20 is aspring 23, the free end of which bears resiliently against the rounded or circular face 24 of the corresponding car 21. This circular face at one point is formed with an indentation or notch 25 and when the door swings to its closed position, this spring riding over the edge face of the ear snaps into this notch and tiiereafter prevents the inward movement opening movement of the door and locks the safety door or section in its closed position until this spring is manually pulled outward and the locking device released. inasmuch as this spring and the 21 are disposed upon the inside face of the safety door, it is obvious that a roleber will not have access to this locking device, which will lock the safety door dow ward. i" t the same time, in case a customer or an oiucial of the bank should happen to have his hand out upon the ledge 26 toward which the shield 11 moves. then if by accident the shield :should drop here would be ample space between the lower edge of the shield and the sill or ledge to prevent any 1.2-ossible Contact between the lower edge of the shield and the customers hands and the safety door would simply swing down ward from the rear, giving amp to the hands but otherwise not injuring them in any way.

The shield 7 held from descent to the lecge or sill 26 by means of steel stops 27 disposed in the grooves 18 and at the lower east a a st sr se at preferably carries at its upper end a copper cap 28. When the shield falls it strikes this copper cap and the shield stops, while the safety door or section 19 is jarred loose from its engagement with the spring 21 and swings downward, as in the manner heretofore stated. hen the shield drops to its closing position it is locked by means of a spring latch 2-9 mounted upon the inside one of the guide strips 8 and resiliently urged inward, the shield being provided upon its margin with a notch into which this latch is adapted to spring when the shield drops and reaches its fully lowered position. The face of the corresponding strip 8 is apertured for the passage of a knob or handle 31 whereby this spring may he released to permit the shield to be lifted by means of the handle 32. Preferably there is a. pad, designated 83, on the bottom of the safety door, which pad is made of any substance which is pliable or elastic so to'prevent any chance of the device injuring a person on closing.

A bell ringing contact is placed upon the inside face of one of the strips 8 operating within the groove 9, this contact being a spring urged a from a coacting contact member 36. hese contact members are con nect-ed in circuit with a bell 87 and a source of energy 38, as illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 10, and when the door descends this spring is forced inward, engaging the contact 36 and closing the circuit between the bell and the source of energy, thus causing the bell to ring and give an alarm.

As illustrated in my prior application, this shield is particularly designed to be used in connection with banks, though it may be used in any other situation in which such a shield is desirable This shield is adapted to fall upon the sill 26 which forms the usual shelf projecting into the cage and out therefrom. This window may be located within the usual partition or wall A, which wall is preferably bulletproof. The push button 22 whereby a circuit is closed through the solenoid may be located at any desired point but preferably, ofcourse, will be placed so that it cannot be accidentally operated. Preferably there will be a number of push buttons, each connected in circuit with all of the solenoids and the source of energy, so that if any ofiicial of the bank is attacked or believes himself in danger of 1 being attacked by a robber he or any other ofiicer may press the nearest push button and cause the descent of all of tho shields.

The shield, whilebeing made of metal, may be made of any bullet-proof material and of any desired dimensions and I do not wish to be limited to the particular manner ofholding this shield in its raised position or 'for causing the descent of the 'eld or shitting into its proper place, i i i i i lit) 1 claim I s l. The combination with a wall opening, of a vertically slidable bullet-proof shield adapted to be shifted to a position to close said opening and urged to said position, the

advance end of the shield being formed with a hinged section, and means normally holding the hinged section open'but releasing the hinged section to permit it to close when the shield has reached its closed position.

2. The combination with a wall opening,

7 ot' a bullet-proof shield normally supported the shield reaches its lowest position.

The combination with a wall having an.

opening, of a shield shiftable across said opening, means urging the shield to a position to close the opening, means limiting the movementof the shield to a position where its advance edge is spaced from the adjacent edge of the wall opening, a shield section hinged to the main body of the shield and normally urged into a position of alignment therewith, and ineans holding said shield section out 01 said position but we leasing the shield sectionwhen the shield has reached its fully lowered position.

a. The combination with a wall having an opening, of a shield adapted to. close said opening, guides on either side of the opening within which the shield slides, stops disposed in said guides abovethe lower edge of the opening to thereby limit the downward movement of the shield, releasable means holding the shield raised, a

shield section hingedly connected to the lower edge of theshield and urged to a position of alignment therewith, and means holding said shield section normally open and releasing the shield section when the shield has contacted with said stops.

5. The combination with a wall having an opening, of a shield adapted to close said opening, vertical guides disposed on each side of said opening within which the shield operates, releasable means holding said shield raised, stops behind said guides limiting the downward movement of the shield to a point where the bottom of the shield is in spaced relation to the bottom of the opening, a shield section hinged to the lower margin otthe Shield'and adapted to close the space betweenthe lower edge of the shield and the lower edge of the door opening when the shield is lowered, and means normally holding said section raised but releasing said section to permit it to close said remainder of the opening when the shield has struck said stops, said means including a member having a notch, and a spring latch adapted to engage in said notch when the section is turned out of alignment With the shield. V

6. The combination with a wall having an opening, of a shield adapted to close said opening and urged to its closed 1 0Sitions, stops limiting then'ioveinent of the shield to its closed "position to a. point where the advance edge of the shield is in spaced relation to the confronting edge of'the opening, a shield section hingedly connected to the advance edge of the shield and urged to a position in alignment with the shield,

and a spring mounted upon the shield and en aging over the edge of the section and normally holding the section open but releasable by the shock of the shield striking said stops.

7. The combination with a wall having an opening, of a shield adapted to close said opening and urged to its closed position, stops limiting the movement of the shield to' its closed position to a. point where the advance edge of the shield is in spaced relation to the'confr'onting edge of the opening,

a; shield section hingedly connected to the advance edge ofthe shield and urged to apositicn in alignment with the shield, a

spring mounted upon the shield and engaging over. the edge of the section and normally holding the section open but releasable by the shock of the shield striking said stops, and means "for locking the section in its closed position.

8. The combination opening, slidably support-ed means holding said shield raised, the shield being urged downward to a closed. position, stops limit-- ing the downward movement or" the shield to a point wherethe lower edge of the shield is in spaced relation to'the lower wall of the opening, a safety section hinged to the shield upon the inside face thereoi and urgedto a position in alignment with the shield, means for holding the safety. section raisedbut permitting the safety section to iossriioq LUCAS.

with a wall having 1 an opening, of a shield adapted to close said 

